Congress – E-Rate Law Advisorhttps://www.eratelaw.com
Latest News & Legal Commentary on the E-Rate ProgramThu, 14 Feb 2019 20:26:04 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.10House and Senate Republicans Urge Joint Board Review of E-rate Proposalshttps://www.eratelaw.com/2014/01/house-and-senate-republicans-urge-joint-board-review-of-e-rate-proposals/
https://www.eratelaw.com/2014/01/house-and-senate-republicans-urge-joint-board-review-of-e-rate-proposals/#respondFri, 31 Jan 2014 22:18:50 +0000http://erateslawadvisor.default.wp1.lexblog.com/?p=825Continue Reading]]>On January 30, 2014, prominent Republican legislators in the Senate and House of Representatives sent a letter to the FCC expressing concern about the potential growth of the E-rate program and urging the agency to engage the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service to review proposals for E-rate reform. In the letter, Senator John Thune, Senator Roger Wicker, Representative Fred Upton, and Representative Greg Walden wrote that proposals floated in the past months “could increase the size and cost of the E-rate program,” and that the growth of the Universal Service Fund requires “a thorough and critical examination of any proposals that have the potential to further increase the bill for American families.” The legislators urged the FCC to use the Federal-State Joint Board “as a tool for the Commission to ensure any changes to the fund achieve the statutory goals in an effective and appropriately tailored way” and pointed to the 2012 Lifeline Reform Order as an a model of cooperation with the Joint Board.
]]>https://www.eratelaw.com/2014/01/house-and-senate-republicans-urge-joint-board-review-of-e-rate-proposals/feed/0President Obama’s SOTU and FCC Chairman Wheeler Advance E-Rate Reform Initiativehttps://www.eratelaw.com/2014/01/president-obamas-sotu-and-fcc-chairman-wheeler-advance-e-rate-reform-initiative/
https://www.eratelaw.com/2014/01/president-obamas-sotu-and-fcc-chairman-wheeler-advance-e-rate-reform-initiative/#respondWed, 29 Jan 2014 22:17:15 +0000http://erateslawadvisor.default.wp1.lexblog.com/?p=821Continue Reading]]>Last night, in his annual State of the Union Address to a joint session of Congress, President Obama singled out the FCC’s ongoing E-rate program reform proceeding as a prominent element of his education initiatives for 2014. The President first heralded his ConnectED initiative to “connect 99 percent of our students to high-speed broadband over the next four years,” and then added: “Tonight, I can announce that with the support of the FCC and companies like Apple, Microsoft, Sprint and Verizon, we’ve got a down payment to start connecting more than 15,000 schools and 20 million students over the next two years, without adding a dime to the deficit.” Further announcements are expected from the White House are expected in the coming days.

Immediately after the President’s announcement, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler issued this statement: “Harnessing the power of digital technology is central to improving our education system and our global competitiveness. In the Internet age, every student in America should have access to state-of-the-art educational tools, which are increasingly interactive, individualized and bandwidth-intensive. The Federal Communications Commission shares the President’s commitment to seizing the opportunities of digital learning, which is why we’ve already launched an effort to modernize our successful E-Rate program—the nation’s largest education technology program. By applying business-like management practices to E-Rate, we can take steps this year that will make existing funds go farther to significantly increase our investment in high-speed broadband connectivity for schools and libraries for the benefit of our students and teachers. Together, with my fellow Commissioners, Congress, educators and other stakeholders, we can ensure that all of America’s students get a 21st-century education.”